


Outtakes

by MS976



Series: The Repeat [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MS976/pseuds/MS976
Summary: A variety of oneshots from my main fic The Repeat that didn't fit into the main story but that I still wanted to write.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Kingsley Shacklebolt, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Hermione Granger
Series: The Repeat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169345
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Outtakes

**Author's Note:**

> so i don't really know what this is or how many OS there will be but there are a couple scenes which don't fit into the main story but that i have in my head and figured why not write them.
> 
> also if you've just stumbled across this please read the main fic first because things probably wont make any sense without it 💕
> 
> for peeps who have read, please consider this first one an apology for breaking hermione and kingsley up on valentines day, the timing was an unfortunate accident lol - also no bonus chapter this week (sorry) while chapter 21 is written and mostly ready for sunday it's not 100% right yet and tbh i wrote this while procrastinating fixing it lol.
> 
> anyway - fingerscrossed you enjoy. it's set right before the christmas holidays in 1976, the shrieking shack incident has happened and the marauders are all kind of avoiding each other because of it.

**December 1976**

He was exhausted. Moony was still avoiding their dorm, and if James was honest with himself, he was too. He couldn’t face Sirius yet, knowing that his friend had tried to set someone up to die. He couldn’t face Remus either, because he didn’t know how to fix it. Didn’t know how to deal with Remus’ horrified expression after he’d realised what had happened. Or how to cope with the way his friend withdrawn into himself. Remus was still only talking to Hermione, and it reminded James of their first few weeks at Hogwarts. When the twins had too timid to find friends outside of each other—even while they were separated by their different houses.

So he distracted himself with spent hours flying aimlessly around the Quidditch pitch until the Highland chill had been too much for even his warming charms. He’d disappeared down into the kitchens as well, almost hoping to run into his friends so _something_ could happen. Rather than this awkward stalemate they’d reached, but mainly he’d spent hours with Lily.

She’d been more accepting of his presence since the attack. Something about pushing her out of the way of a potentially deadly curse had made her far more accepting of his company. When he’d shown up morosely at the library table they did their potions work, she hadn’t said anything about the argument the whole common room had overhead. Instead, she started talking through the assignment they had that week.

He’d appeared beyond their usual studying sessions as well, though. Unsure where else to go, he’d repeatedly shown up at her table, and she had never questioned him. Only asking whether he was going home for Christmas and sharing her own issues with Petunia without expecting anything in return.

He was there again this evening. Almost falling asleep he’d been up so late the night before, thinking about how he was going to tell Padfoot he had to come back to the Manor, even if he didn’t know if he really wanted Sirius there. He had spent hours lying in the darkness, imagining the conversation.

Distantly he could hear Lily talking, but at that moment he was so distracted by this strange, sweet scent around them he didn’t notice. 

As an Animagus, his senses were heightened even in his human form. Not to the extent they were when he was Prongs but enough that it made everything a little more pungent. There were times he wished that wasn’t the case. He’d moved Quidditch strategy talks to the pitch not long after completing the transformation because his newly enhanced senses made the locker room a less than pleasant place to be. 

His senses also intensified more pleasant smells, though. Like the soft scent, he could make out at that very moment – almost intoxicating, he found himself trying to find its source without even thinking about it.

Had he been any less exhausted, he would have realised his behaviour was strange, if not bordering on disturbing, but James did not recognise as much. Instead, he scented the air gently, tilting his head towards Lily where he was sure it was emanating from.

Beside him, Lily froze, turning her head to look at him both confused and slightly freaked out, “Potter, are you _sniffing_ me.”

James also froze at her cutting tone before he had a moment of realisation as to what he was doing. Leant towards her, he was far closer than they usually sat and he was, in fact, sniffing lightly in Lily’s direction. Backing away rapidly, he flushed right red. 

“No!” He rushed to refuse her assumptions, but Lily didn’t look convinced, instead, raising an eyebrow at him.

“You smell really good?” He tried, desperately trying to think of an excuse for his strange behaviour while Lily looked at him like he’d gone mad.

“I smell good?” The words were drawn out like she wasn’t sure what to say in response.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “I was just trying to figure out what it was?”

No matter the explanation, they both knew his behaviour was peculiar and Lily wasted no time in telling him as much.

“Well stop it. _Immediately._ It’s weird.”

“I know – I’m sorry. I just really wanted to know what it was.” He genuinely was curious. He’d never smelt anything quite like it, sweet but not overly so, it wasn’t floral either like so many of the perfumes he knew girls wore.

“You’ll stop if I tell you?” She questioned, and he nodded enthusiastically, “It’s honey and almonds. They’re in my body lotion.”

“Body lotion,” he muttered to himself, not something he’d ever thought about, but if it was what made Lily smell so nice, he could certainly get behind it. Before he could stop himself, he asked another question. “So not lilies?”

Giving him an exasperated look, she shook her head, “No, James. Not lilies, I’m not a total cliché and honestly with a name like mine; it’s best to avoid florals all together. Now can we please move on? This whole conversation has been bizarre.”

He nodded, and they both turned back towards their books. James making a conscious effort not to sniff at the air around them, he couldn’t resist making one last comment—sure it was the sleep deprivation that made him do it.

“I do really like it – it’s kind of sweet, but not overly so.”

Shaking her head, Lily’s expression of disbelief returned, “Well, thank you, I guess. Now studying. _Please_. I want to forget this whole thing ever happened.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you 💕💕


End file.
